When West Ham United captain Mark Noble turned down the chance to play for Ireland it was a prickly subject.
Ireland taking advantage of the ancestry of lesser talented English players has long been the subject of heated debate.
After representing England at youth level with distinction all the way up to Under 21 level, a senior call-up was never forthcoming for homegrown Hammers skipper Noble.
‘I’d snap Noble in half’
Back in 2016 reports claimed Noble was considering switching allegiance to the Emerald Isle.
It caused a huge stir at the time and sparked a furious reaction from some.
Former Ireland international Keith Andrews even declared he would ‘snap Noble in half’ if he was called up, as reported at the time by Off The Ball.
The noble truth behind Noble’s Ireland snub
More considered arguments were put forward for and against Noble for Ireland.
But in the end the East Ender elected not to go green.
Now Noble’s apprentice at West Ham, Declan Rice, finds himself in a similar and even more acute situation.
Rice has played for Ireland’s senior team – and won rave reviews in the process.
But he has now asked for time to decide whether he wants to pledge his future to England or the Irish FA.
Discussing his young charge’s dilemma in the Evening Standard, Noble has lifted the lid on the truth behind his so-called snub.
‘I don’t mean that disrespectfully’
“My family are from Ireland, though, and their FA contacted me to see if I was interested,” Noble told the Evening Standard.
“My thinking, though, was that I had never dreamt of playing for the Republic of Ireland. And I don’t mean that at all disrespectfully.
“I had played for England through all the age groups. I felt that, if I went to play for Ireland and there was a kid out there whose dream was to play for that country and I had taken his spot, then I didn’t think that would have been right. That’s just the way I am.”
So there you have it from the horse’s mouth.
Noble by name, noble by nature.
Let’s hope the likes of Keith Andrews and the midfielder’s other outspoken critics can be more Mark Noble in the way they conduct themselves.
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